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How Health Tech Affects the Social Determinants of Health

Social determinant factors have a major impact on how patients engage with their health. And health technology can be used to benefit people of all backgrounds and socioeconomic classes.

At World Health Care Congress, Amar Desai, M.D., MPH, president of HealthCare Partners, spoke to Inside Digital Health™ about the benefits and challenges of implementing value-based care models into health systems, how health technology can be used to address the social determinants of health and the importance of population health management.

Desai said that health technology plays a huge role in engaging a patient and collecting clinical parameters and data and financial parameters and data.

With the ability to capture all of this data, Desai believes that the data add value for the patient and for health systems.

“We know that social determinant factors have a major impact on how patients engage with the healthcare system and on downstream utilization,” he said.

Capturing the data gives analysts and providers the opportunity to know which patients are most at-risk, how and when to intervene and to work with social services to give the best possible care and to better improve the lives of their patients.

Inside Digital Health™ delivers the information that healthcare decision makers and physicians need to confidently navigate the digital transformation. We bring you compelling stories about the institutions and individuals who are fomenting positive change — so you can join them in leveraging the tools of healthcare technology and leading the noble quest toward improving patient care and eliminating healthcare waste.